Week 4 was…..well something. We learned how real the Cards are after knocking off the Rams in dominant fashion. They are the only undefeated left standing as we head into week 5. The New York Jets and Giants were tired of getting whooped on so they got a W in the win column. Chiefs/Eagles was over city as I predicted. Bills are dominant. Bill Belichick still is an incredible defensive mind. The Cowboys are for real considering what they did to the Panthers (who I also believe are playoff contenders). I still neva lost in the TFTB fantasy league. And I’m all aboard the Justin Herbert ascension to superstardom.
Week 5 is….well looking pretty damn good! It’s the last week before bye weeks start and that’s number 1. Number 2, and most importantly, we’re in the part of the season where we start to separate the pretenders and contenders. We learned a lot about some teams last week in finding out how real they are. There’s questions out there about others. Unfortunately due to this being Sunday, Seahawks fans know their season is essentially over. 2-3 record, loaded division, and no Russell Wilson for the foreseeable future.
Biggest Takeaway (s) from Week 4
Cards are for real and in a way I never saw coming. I have the Rams as my Super Bowl winner and they absolutely thrashed them at home. I saw a good game but man that was insane. The Rams looked sort of lost at times and Kyler Murray was always in control. He’s easily the MVP front runner to this point and established himself as one of the better QB’s in this league. I can’t imagine him still being in the A’s minor league system right now and us being robbed of his amazing athleticism due to the dumb MLB service time rules. Choosing football over baseball was an easy decision IMO but I think that’s evidently more clear today.
I’m stopping here. My ode to the last undefeated team standing is the biggest take away. Enjoy it Cards fans!
Looking ahead to week 5
Team 1 we are going to find out about: Cincinnati Bengals. Are the Bengals for real? Coming off of a win against the Steelers and then Joe Burrow coming back against the Jags on a short week to get another win is impressive. Good teams do that. Listening to Burrow’s interview, he has this confidence about him that an entire team can buy into. If he plays well, this team will go far. I believe Joe Burrow is for real and if you hear any of the clips from in game and listening to him talk, that’ll tell you where he is. Swagger is 100 right now and that’s good for a young, hungry team. This week they get the Packers so that’s the real test. If the Bengals can beat the Packers, that’ll put the league on notice that they are here to make waves as the season goes forward
Team 2 we are going to find out about: Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers are a team trending in the opposite direction so we will find out a lot about them on Sunday. It’s no secret that they have struggled especially on offense so far. Through 4 games, they have the worst rushing attack in football. Ben Roethlisberger looks sort of washed which is sad considering all he’s done for this franchise. The optimist in me hopes he can somehow turn it around. Come Sunday if they beat the Broncos, the next couple games look very winnable especially now that Seattle is without Wilson. If this team goes 3-3 coming out of the bye, Halloween in Cleveland will be VERY interesting. After that, the Lions and Bears are on the schedule. If all goes well in that month’s time, this team is looked at completely differently. If they lose, then the plan changes. 1-4 is very hard to come back from so yes I’m calling this game must win.
Game of the Week: Bills vs Chiefs. This is a rematch from the AFC Championship game last year. That game was something where we saw the Chiefs take down the Bills. This game I believe will be different. The Bills are rolling ever since their loss to the Steelers in week 1 scoring 40 in their last 2 games and 35+ in the last 3. Josh Allen vs Patrick Mahomes gives me a completely different vibe than Brady vs Manning. Brady usually dominated Peyton in the head to head matchups. As these 2 stud QBs continue to build their legacy, every time they go head to head it’ll feel like a heavyweight fight. This feels more like Tyson vs Holyfield or Ali vs Foreman. Both QBs have cannon’s for arms, have ascended to the top of the league in a way that makes your eyes pop Allen took a little more time but he’s easily top 5 in this league. The one thing Mahomes has over Allen right now is a Super Bowl. A win for the Bills this week will be a massive step in that direction. Knowing they can beat the Chiefs will instill a confidence that will be necessary come January. I couldn’t be more excited for this game.
thoughtsfromthebench.com 